Department for Transport

Blue Badge Scheme

Mr Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many Blue Badges were issued in (a) Ribble Valley constituency, (b) Lancashire and (c) the UK in each of the last 10 years.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The estimated number of blue badges issued each year is shown in the table below. Figures are available on a financial year basis only from 2008/09. EnglandLancashire2008/09922,300not available2009/10935,20024,3002010/11936,10026,4002011/12905,60024,4002012/13897,50026,900Department for Transport figures cover England only. Figures are not available at parliamentary constituency level.

Large Goods Vehicles

Sir Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many foreign HGV lorries entered the UK in the last period for which figures are available; and how much revenue has been raised through the HGV Road Levy User since its introduction.

Mr Robert Goodwill: In the 12 month period ending June 2014, 1.79 million foreign registered road goods vehicles travelled from Great Britain to mainland Europe. This was a 15 per cent increase on the previous 12 month period. Statistics are available for outward traffic only to minimise reporting burdens as inbound data would be so similar. The HGV Road User Levy was introduced on 1 April 2014 for goods vehicles over 12 tonnes. After five calendar months to 31 August 2014, £20.1m revenue had been collected through the foreign operator payment system from vehicles registered in 80 different countries. This revenue came from the purchase of 752,000 levies ranging from daily to annual time restrictions. In Great Britain, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency have issued 978 fixed penalty notices for £295k to vehicles from 44 different countries and indicate a compliance rate of over 95% from vehicles stopped.

Department for Communities and Local Government

Voluntary Work: Religion

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will publish an assessment of the performance of his Department's A Year of Service scheme in 2012.

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the number of participants in each event of his Department's A Year of Service scheme in 2012.

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of regional variations in participation in his Department's A Year in Service scheme in 2012.

Stephen Williams: I refer the hon. Member to my answer to her of 10 September 2014, Official Report, Column 638W. Figures are not centrally held on the number of participants, but I would observe that 144 separate events were recorded on the “A Year of Service” website, including Berkshire, Birmingham, Bournemouth, Bradford, Bury, Cardiff, Colchester, Dublin, Feltham, Glasgow, Gravesend, Hertfordshire, Leeds, Leicester, London Luton, Maidenhead, Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham, Oxford, Poole, Radlett, Scottish boarders, Sheffield, Slough, Southampton, St Albans, Taunton, Watford, Wessex and the West Midlands. Many more events took place locally around the country.

Antisemitism

Mrs Louise Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps he has taken to promote community cohesion following the recent anti-Semitic incidents; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Williams: The Government is in daily contact with the Jewish community and the police who are working closely with Jewish communities and organisations to monitor tensions and to provide reassurance, security measures and safety advice. We would urge anyone who is a victim of a hate crime to report the incident to the police.Our relationship with the Jewish community has been built on the solid work of the Cross-Government working group on tackling anti-semitism which ensures that we are alive to any issues and concerns of the Jewish community and can respond quickly. This is a model of good practice cited around the world.I met with the Community Security Trust to discuss the rise in anti-semitism in July and issued a statement which can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/stephen-williams-meets-jewish-community-organisation-over-rise-in-anti-semitic-attacksMy rt. hon. Friend, the Secretary of State (Eric Pickles) met with the Chief Rabbi on Wednesday 3 September and repeated our continued commitment in tackling anti-semitism. This Department will be encouraging the community more generally to make Mitzvah Day an earnest event this year, and emphasise the importance of the Jewish community getting out and very visibly demonstrating once again their contribution to British life. Those who commit hate crimes should expect to be punished with the full force of the law. Everyone who believes in British liberties should condemn anti-semitism and stand up for the Jewish community's right to practice their faith without fear or intimidation.

Trade Unions

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will publish the representations he has received on his proposal to end check-off for trade union subscriptions for staff working in his Department.

Kris Hopkins: As was the case under previous Administrations, we do not publish internal correspondence with our trade unions. Notwithstanding, as my hon. Friend, the hon. Member for Great Yarmouth (Brandon Lewis), stated in his answer to the rt. hon. Member of 13 September 2013, Official Report, Column 882W, the subsidies and support given to the trade unions by the public sector are poor value for money and represent an unhealthy relationship between the state and voluntary sector. Trade union activities and campaigning in local government, and indeed our Department, should be funded by members' subscriptions, not bankrolled by the taxpayer. Greater freedom from state dependency will help ensure that trade union bosses better reflect and respond to the wishes and views of the grassroots members who pay the bill. As the previous answer stated, our reforms to trade union facility time are estimated to save up to £400,000 a year of taxpayers’ money. In the age of direct debits, it is not appropriate or necessary for public resources to be used to support the collection and administration of trade union membership subscriptions. It is also unsatisfactory that trade unions like PCS continue to collect a political levy, but make no attempt to inform would-be members that the political levy exists, that it is optional or mention the right to opt out on their membership forms. This is a misleading and dubious marketing practice through omission. The decision by the last Labour Government to embed check-off in contracts has acted as an obstacle to ending this outdated practice. But I can confirm that my Department has ended the check off facility to new employees as the first step in phasing it out. We have also recently suspended check-off for all staff during the current industrial action by PCS. In turn, PCS have asked their union members to switch to Direct Debit noting in their literature “the process takes less than five minutes” and is “very simple”. This somewhat proves our point.

Roads: Lighting

Sir Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will discuss with (a) the Royal Association for the Deaf and (b) the Royal National Institute for the Blind the consequences for people with disabilities of decisions by some local authorities to introduce policies of switching off street lights.

Sir Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what discussions he has had with local authorities who have introduced policies of switching off street lights to ascertain what the consequences of those decisions have been.

Kris Hopkins: I refer the hon. Member to the answer of 18 June 2014, Official Report, Column 632-633W.

Fast Food: Planning Permission

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what guidance his Department gives to planning authorities on applications for fast-food restaurants (a) near schools and (b) in residential areas.

Brandon Lewis: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 11 September 2014, Official Report, Column 687W.

Terrorism

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will have discussions with religious groups on reintroducing a National Day of Prayer to reflect on the terrorist threats the UK faces.

Stephen Williams: The Government recognises the contribution that people of faith can make to their own local communities and to wider society. Freedom of religious observance for all citizens is a fundamental principle of a free society and people draw on a range of sources to define and express their identity. The Government has no overarching role in regulating personal belief or faith. There are already several international days of prayer, i.e. All Saints Day and Women’s World Day of Prayer. As well as these, faith leaders regularly come together to pray for specific issues. Recently, Lord Ahmad took part in a prayer vigil at Westminster Cathedral for Iraq with leading members of faith communities from around the country.

Non-domestic Rates: Westmorland

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many shops in Westmorland and Lonsdale constituency have benefited from the reduction in business rates.

Kris Hopkins: The Department for Communities and Local Government has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Health: Finance

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what the full-year expenditure in each identified category of the Ring-fenced Public Health Grant was for (a) each local authority and (b) England in 2013-14.

Kris Hopkins: The Department for Communities and Local Government has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Nigeria

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the UK's priorities are for the meeting of regional foreign ministers in Abuja in September 2014.

James Duddridge: I attended this meeting on security in Nigeria on 3 September. Both at the meeting, and separately to President Goodluck Jonathan, I set out the importance the UK attaches to Nigeria taking an holistic approach to meeting the challenges of extremism and terrorism, working closely with its neighbours to protect civilians from violence. I outlined the range of support the UK is providing to Nigeria to this end and underlined our continuing commitment to support the Nigerian authorities as they tackle Boko Haram.

Nigeria

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether his Department is taking steps to effect swift and safe passage back to the UK for British nationals in Nigeria as a result of extremist activity in that country.

James Duddridge: The FCO keeps its travel advice for Nigeria under close review. While we do not currently advise British nationals in Nigeria to leave, we do advise against travel to some parts of the country because of the security situation. We encourage British nationals in, or planning travel to, Nigeria to consult our travel advice regularly.

Nigeria

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the threat to the stability of the Nigerian government currently posed by extremist activity in that country.

James Duddridge: Nigeria faces a serious threat from extremist activity, particularly in the north east of the country. The UK, along with some of Nigeria’s other international and regional partners, is providing assistance to the Nigerian authorities as they tackle this threat.

USA

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with which states he has discussed the future of US tactical nuclear weapons in Europe since the Chicago NATO Summit.

Mr David Lidington: At the recent Summit in Wales, all NATO Allies reiterated that the greatest responsibility of the Alliance is to protect and defend our territory and our populations against attack and that deterrence, based on an appropriate mix of nuclear, conventional, and missile defence capabilities, remains a core element of our overall strategy. Collectively, NATO as an Alliance discusses, on a regular basis, its nuclear policy, doctrine and capability including forward deployed nuclear forces. The stationing of nuclear weapons on the territory of a particular NATO member is governed by a bilateral agreement between the US and the host nation.

USA

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, on what date the renewal of the US-UK Mutual Defence Agreement was agreed.

Mr David Lidington: Certain provisions of the Mutual Defence Agreement (MDA) are subject to renewal every 10 years to ensure that they remain relevant and valid. The next renewal is due by the end of 2014. To this end, the British and US Governments are taking forward the process of renewing these provisions in line with our respective domestic processes and requirements. Before any amendment to the MDA can take effect, in accordance with the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010, the proposed amendments will be laid before Parliament for scrutiny later in the year. A similar review process is underway in the US. Once these periods of scrutiny have been completed, the amendments will enter into force and be valid until the end of 2024.

USA

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what role the implementation of Article VI of the Non-Proliferation Treaty has had in any negotiation on the renewal of the US-UK Mutual Defence Agreement.

Mr David Lidington: The UK takes all of its international obligations seriously. The Mutual Defence Agreement is fully compliant and compatible with our obligations under the Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Nuclear Weapons

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he has received an invitation to attend the third conference on the humanitarian consequences of nuclear weapons in Vienna on 8 to 9 December 2014; and what representation the UK plans to send.

Mr David Lidington: The United Kingdom has now received an invitation to this conference and the Government is considering whether to attend.

ICT

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what progress he has made on improving the quality and transparency of management information across frontline services within his Department's Digital Service's Performance Platform tool.

Mr David Lidington: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office strongly supports the use of the Performance Platform to improve the quality and transparency of Management Information across government. Four of our transactions already have detailed dashboards on the platform, including our highest volume digital transaction (legalisation). As we move more of our services online we will ensure those new transactions are built in such a way that they too can go onto the performance platform. We are also interested in extending the Performance Platform to cover the non-digital element of our major transactions and intend to scope how that might work in practice.

Occupied Territories

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made following the recent reports of further illegal settlement building by the government of Israel in the West Bank; and if he will make a statement.

Mr David Lidington: The Government has made it clear that it deplores the Israeli Government's expropriation of 988 acres of land around the settlement of Etzion near Bethlehem. It is an ill-judged decision at a time when the priority should be to build on the ceasefire in Gaza. We believe it will do serious damage to Israel's standing in the international community and we strongly urge the government of Israel to reverse this decision.Our Ambassador to Tel Aviv had a meeting with the Israeli Cabinet Secretary on 7 September, when he discussed the issue of settlements and the recent expropriation of land near Bethlehem.

Cabinet Office

Government Departments: Cost Effectiveness

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what savings the Efficiency and Reform Group has identified in each year since 2010.

Mr Francis Maude: Savings delivered by the Efficiency and Reform Group in each financial year since 2010 are as follows: FY10/11 £3.75bnFY11/12 £5.5bnFY12/13 £10bnFY13/14 £14.3bnSavings delivered in each year are normally measured against a 2009/10 baseline and are a mixture of recurring and non-recurring savings.All savings figures have been verified by the Cross Department Internal Auditors and reviewed by the NAO.

Birth Rate

Luciana Berger: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the number of births that will take place in England in each of the next 10 years.

Mr Brooks Newmark: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply. 



ONS Letter to Member - Births
(PDF Document, 99.73 KB)

Department for International Development

Written Questions

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what proportion of named day written questions were answered by her Department within the prescribed period in the (a) 2012-13 session, (b) 2013-14 session and (c) 2014-15 session to date.

Mr Desmond Swayne: The proportion of named day written questions answered by the Department for International Development within the prescribed period is set out in the table below.SessionProportion of named day written questions answered on time(a) 2012-13 97.4%(b) 2013-14 99.4%(c) 2014-15 (as of Friday 5 September 2014)100%   Departmental performance information for ordinary and named day Parliamentary Questions is collated by the Office of the Leader of the House of Commons and submitted to the Procedure Committee. This is published on a sessional basis by the committee. The monitoring report relating to the 2012-13 session was published on 13 February 2014 as HC1046. The report covering statistics relating to performance during the 2013-14 session will be published very shortly by the Procedure Committee.

Department for Education

Pupils: Bullying

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what guidance is given by her Department to (a) maintained schools and (b) independent schools on what action to take when a student attempts suicide as a result of bullying.

Mr Nick Gibb: The Department of Health published a report earlier this year that sets out the key actions that local areas can take to prevent suicides. This is published online at:www.gov.uk/government/publications/suicide-prevention-reportIt emphasises that schools, social care and the youth justice system, as well as charities that focus on problems such as bullying, poor body image and lack of self-esteem, all have an important contribution in preventing suicide.The Government has sent a clear message to schools that all forms of bullying, for whatever reason, are absolutely unacceptable and should not be tolerated in our schools.The Department for Education issued guidance in 2011 for maintained and independent schools on preventing and tackling all forms of bullying, which is published online at:www.gov.uk/government/publications/preventing-and-tackling-bullyingEarlier this year, we issued updated advice on sanctions to manage poor behaviour, which includes bullying. This advice is available online at:www.gov.uk/government/publications/behaviour-and-discipline-in-schoolsThe Department has also issued a leaflet about bullying, which outlines the responsibilities that schools have in making appropriate provision for a bullied child’s social, emotional and mental health needs. This leaflet is available online at:www.gov.uk/government/publications/preventing-and-tackling-bullying.Case studies on how good schools manage bullying have been published online, and can be viewed at:www.gov.uk/government/collections/managing-behaviour-and-bullying-in-schools-case-studiesIn June 2014, the Department issued advice on Behaviour and Mental Health to help teachers differentiate between pupils that are simply behaving badly and other behaviour – whether it is disruptive, withdrawn, anxious, depressed or otherwise – that may be related to an unmet mental health need. This advice also outlines to teachers how they can support their pupils who may have a mental health need. This is published online at:www.gov.uk/government/publications/mental-health-and-behaviour-in-schools--2

Digital Technology

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what progress she has made on increasing the use of digital engagement in the development and implementation of policy.

Mr Nick Gibb: Digital is the default engagement and communications channel for the Department for Education. In addition to our presence on the GOV.UK website, we use a range of widely available social media platforms to communicate. The Department regularly seeks to develop the use of these channels in new ways, and to reach more people. The Department has a particularly strong presence on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube, with 129,000 Twitter followers – up by 60,000 since April 2013. Recent tweets on policy activity during ‘Back to School Week’ have reached as many as 1.2 million Twitter accounts. We have 25,560 Facebook followers – up by 12,000 since April 2013. In the last full financial year (2013-14), our YouTube videos were watched around 279,000 times. The Department also regularly publishes content on relevant third-party spaces, such as the TES Connect website, which is widely used by teaching professionals as a place for discussion and information. In the last financial year (2013-14), there were 5.4 million unique visitors to the Department’s newly launched web pages on GOV.UK. All the Department’s publications are now published on this website, in line with our digital strategy. National curriculum publications have been the most popular collection of documents anywhere on the GOV.UK website, receiving around 2 million views. Additionally, the Department’s e-consultations application allows users to respond to public consultations online. This tool is widely used to elicit views on a broad range of policy areas, informing their development and implementation. The Department has used its social media channels effectively to make people aware of public consultations – for example leading to around 5000 responses to the consultation on changes to the national curriculum. On a similar basis, we use our social media channels to make people aware of conferences and meetings at which Ministers or departmental officials are speaking and answering questions. We also provide policy colleagues with relevant public comments from our social media channels to help inform their activity.

Ministry of Justice

Community Rehabilitation Companies

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many mutuals have indicated to him that they will bid for work under the Transforming Rehabilitation programme; and how many such organisations have withdrawn from the process.

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when the contracts for work under the Transforming Rehabilitation programme will (a) be signed and (b) become operational.

Andrew Selous: At the end of June we received bids in the competition for the contracts to run the 21 Community Rehabilitation Companies. We have a strong competition in all regions with over 80 bids having been received and an average of four bidders for each area. Over half of the bidders include a voluntary, mutual or social enterprise organisation and mutuals continue to feature strongly, with eight potential staff mutuals competing for a share of the contracts. As well as the Tier 1 provider bids, almost 1000 organisations have registered to play a part in the wider supply chain, including more than 700 listed as VCSE (voluntary, community or social enterprise) organisations. In addition to this, charities experienced in tackling a range of issues affecting offenders, small and large businesses and experienced multinationals have partnered together to bid for the work that will help turn offenders’ lives around. All Tier 1 bidders have experience of working with offenders or across the wider Criminal Justice System. The process to award Community Rehabilitation Company contracts is ongoing and the details of which bidders remain in the competition are commercially sensitive information, which it would not be right to make public at this stage. We are committed to rolling out these important reforms by 2015.

Financial Services

Mr Bob Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he plans to take to enforce the payment of costs awarded against off-shore hedge funds by the courts in civil cases decided in the UK.

Mr Shailesh Vara: The primary function of the civil courts is to provide a forum in which private individuals can resolve their disputes. It is for the creditor to pursue enforcement of any costs order in his or her favour in another jurisdiction. The success of enforcement abroad largely depends on the nature of the order and where it is to be enforced, since the recognition and enforcement of judgments of a foreign jurisdiction will depend on the private international law rules (including any rules applicable due to international agreements) of the state in which it is sought to enforce.

Insolvency

Mr Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether an impact assessment has been carried out on the amount of reduced income that creditors will receive as a result of the proposed end of the temporary exemption for insolvency litigation under the Legal Aid Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 which is planned for April 2015.

Mr Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what type of statutory instrument he plans to introduce to bring the temporary exemption for insolvency litigation under the Legal Aid Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 to an end in April 2015.

Mr Shailesh Vara: In April 2011 the Government published an Impact Assessment in relation to the reforms set out in Part 2 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders (LASPO) Act 2012. It explained that whilst there may be a reduction in the number of cases brought where no win no fee conditional fee agreements are used, overall the LASPO reforms will tackle excessive costs. The Government does not propose to update the Impact Assessment in relation to insolvency proceedings. The LASPO reforms will apply to insolvency proceedings from April 2015. As provided in the Act, implementation will be by way of Commencement Order.

Prisoners: Pay

Mr Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much was paid in unemployment pay to offenders in each prison in England and Wales under paragraph 2.2.1 of Prison Service Order 4460 in the last (a) week, (b) month and (c) year for which data is available.

Mr Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many offenders in each prison in England and Wales were eligible for unemployment pay as set out in paragraph 2.2.1 of Prison Service Order 4460 in the last (a) week, (b) month and (c) year for which data is available.

Andrew Selous: The National Offender Management Service's central accounting system has a single accounting code for Public Sector prisoners' earnings. It does not separately identify unemployment pay or details of the number of prisoners in receipt of such payments. To obtain this information for both public and private prisons would require us to examine individual prisoner employment records from each establishment to establish those who are in receipt of unemployment pay last week, month and year and this would be a significant exercise and could only be done at disproportionate cost.

Youth Justice

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the national youth justice budget was in each of the last three years.

Andrew Selous: I refer my honourable member to a previous answer of 26 November 2013 to question 176385, HC Deb 26 Nov 2013: Column 234W, which provides the Youth Justice Board’s budget for the past five years: http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201314/cmhansrd/cm131126/text/131126w0003.htm#13112677002849

Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission

ICT

Mr Ben Bradshaw: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, how many mobile telephones, BlackBerrys and laptops were lost by the Electoral Commission in (a) 2013 and (b) 2014 to date.

Mr Gary Streeter: The Commission informs me that in 2013 no items of mobile equipment were lost and in 2014 one piece of mobile equipment was lost. This was a Blackberry mobile phone which was left on a commuter train on 22 January 2014.All Commission Blackberry’s are password protected. The Commission’s standard procedure was followed and the device was disabled and all data was remotely wiped off as soon as possible the following day. The Commission’s Information Manager was informed and an incident report was created.

Absent Voting

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, which wards, by town, county and parliamentary constituency had a postal vote turnout greater than 80 per cent at the last local elections for which figures are available.

Mr Gary Streeter: As it has previously confirmed to the hon. Member, the Electoral Commission does not hold ward data by town and parliamentary constituency.The most recent postal vote turnout data it holds by ward / division is for the May 2013 county council elections in England and Anglesey, Wales. The table below shows the wards / divisions where the postal voter turnout was greater than 80 per cent.  CountyLocal authorityElectoral ward / divisionPostal voter turnout (% postal ballots returned)LincolnshireNorth KestevenHykeham Forum82LeicestershireMeltonMelton North82CumbriaSouth LakelandKendal Highgate81NorfolkNorth NorfolkHolt81BuckinghamshireWycombeBooker Cressex & Castlefield81NottinghamshireBroxtoweNuthall81

Voting Behaviour

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what the 100 local authority wards with the lowest turnout for voting at polling stations are; and what the proportion of the total turnout for postal voting in these wards is.

Mr Gary Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that it has placed the answer to the hon. Member’s question in the library.

Electoral Register

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, pursuant to the Answer of 9 July 2014, Official Report, column 299W, on electoral register, how many periodic reports on the accuracy and completeness of the electoral registers there have been since 2001.

Mr Gary Streeter: All of the Commission’s reports on the accuracy and completeness of the electoral registers are on its website here: http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/our-work/our-research/electoral-registration-research

Electoral Register

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, pursuant to the Answer of 9 June 2014, Official Report, column 301W, on the electoral register, if he will list the electoral registration officers who responded to the Electoral Commission survey on the importance of data matching and who considered that local data matching was (a) important and (b) unimportant during the live run confirmation.

Mr Gary Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that it has placed the answer to the hon. Member’s question in the library.

Electoral Commission

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, with reference to the key success measures on page 14 of the Commission's Corporate Plan 2014-19, what the main targets for successful public awareness campaigns were; what the targets were for each of these campaigns; and whether subsequent targets are adjusted in the light of the results of each campaign.

Mr Gary Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that it has information available about the targets set for its public awareness campaigns since 2010.   The nature of these targets can vary between campaigns depending on the focus, be it awareness-raising, voter information or voter registration.   The Commission sets stretching targets for each campaign based primarily on the performance of the nearest comparable campaign. It also takes into account a number of other factors in addition to this. These include campaign messaging and call-to-action; audience; and pre-existing public interest in the event(s) taking place.   The table below outlines the main targets set for each full campaign run by the Electoral Commission since the 2010 UK General Election, and the actual result.   The only campaigns not included in the table below are the Welsh devolution referendum, March 2011 and UK Parliamentary voting system referendum, May 2011; Scottish Parliamentary, Northern Ireland Assembly, Welsh Assembly, English local and Northern Irish local elections, 2011 campaigns.   This is because the Electoral Commission did not have comparable campaigns against which to benchmark targets. CampaignAreaTarget Actual ResultUK general and English local elections, 2010Registration form downloads (total, pre-registration-deadline and post-registration-deadline)142,000540,000Calls received by the call centre12,00053,000Forms sent out by the call centre10,00010,000English, Scottish and Welsh local, London mayoral and London Assembly elections, 2012 (GB-wide targets)Registration form downloads75,000 (15,000 of which are from Scotland)146,774% of the population report having seen at least one element of the campaign50-60%66%English, Scottish and Welsh local, London mayoral and London Assembly elections, 2012 (Scotland only targets) % of people recognising the door drop booklet20%-30%38%-43%% of the population know the elections on 3 May are for local council elections20% to 30%63%% of those that claim to have read the booklet who know that you vote using numbers50% to 60%95%% of the population report having seen at least one element of the Scotland-specific campaign50% to 60%62%-68%England and Wales police and crime commissioner elections, 2012% of the population report having seen at least one element of the campaign50%-60%50%% of the population recognising the door drop booklet (mid-wave)25%-35%32%% of the population knowing that the elections on 15 November are for PCCs (mid-wave)40%-50%46%% of those who claim to have read the booklet know that you vote using first or second choice (mid-wave)50%-60%58%English and Welsh local elections, 2013Registration forms downloaded from the website75,00087,000% of the population report having seen at least one element of the registration campaign50%-60%62%Northern Ireland canvass, 2013% of people report having seen or heard at least one element of the campaign.50-60%74%% of people know the return deadline is 27 September20-30%38%% of people claimed they returned their form as a result of seeing the advertising.25-35%30%% of canvass forms are returned by the 27 September deadline50-60%70%% of canvass forms are returned by the 28 October deadline70-80%79%English and Northern Irish local, English mayoral and UK European Parliamentary elections, 2014 (GB-wide targets)% of the population report having seen at least one element of the registration campaign60%-70%69%Registration forms downloaded from aboutmyvote.co.uk140,000207,815English and Northern Irish local, English mayoral and UK European Parliamentary elections, 2014 (Northern Ireland-only targets)% of population report having seen at least one element of the registration campaign60-70%78% (voter registration campaign) 69% (voter information campaign)Registration forms downloaded from aboutmyvote.co.uk.10,0006,059% of the population aware of the requirement to take a valid form of photographic ID to vote.95%-98%95%English and Northern Irish local, English mayoral and UK European Parliamentary elections, 2014 (Overseas voter-only targets)Registration form downloads from aboutmyvote.co.uk25,0007,079

Electoral Commission

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, which Electoral Commission regulation campaigns were deemed (a) appropriate and (b) inappropriate to be allocated targets for registration download.

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, under what criteria the targets set for the electoral registration campaigns that were conducted by the Electoral Commission were deemed appropriate for targets for registration downloads.

Mr Gary Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that its campaigns deemed appropriate to be allocated targets for registration downloads are those for which downloading a registration form was the major aim and call-to-action (ie. what the campaign is requesting its audience to do) for the campaign.   Since 2010, those campaigns are: · UK general and English local elections, 2010 · English, Scottish and Welsh local, London mayoral and London Assembly elections, 2012 · English and Welsh local elections, 2013 · English and Northern Irish local, English mayoral and UK European Parliamentary elections, 2014   Conversely, those campaigns deemed inappropriate to be allocated a target for registration downloads include those for which downloading a registration form is not the major call-to-action (i.e. what we are asking people to do in response to the campaign). Instead, these campaigns focus more on informing the voter or making the voter aware of the subject. These are also often additional aims of the voter registration-focussed campaigns.   Since 2010, those campaigns are:  · Welsh devolution referendum, 2011 · UK Parliamentary voting system referendum; Scottish Parliamentary, Northern Ireland Assembly, Welsh Assembly, English local and Northern Irish local elections, 2011 · England and Wales police and crime commissioner elections, 2012 · Northern Ireland canvass 2013 The Commission is basing this response on the assumption that where question 208197 refers to ‘regulation campaigns’, this is understood to be ‘registration campaigns’, as the Commission does not run public awareness campaigns for its regulatory work.

Scotland Office

Domestic Visits

Sheila Gilmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, pursuant to the Answer of 23 June 2014, Official Report, column 53W, on official visits, what domestic visits he and his predecessor have made since January 2013; and what the purpose of each such visit was.

David Mundell: This information could only be provided at disproportionate cost. Details of all Ministerial overseas travel is published on a quarterly basis.

Ministry of Defence

Mass Media: Subscriptions

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the annual cost is of each subscription to (a) magazines and (b) television channels held by his Department.

Anna Soubry: Information on individual media subscriptions is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.The Ministry Of Defence (MOD) purchases its print and electronic journals through a pan-Government framework contract. Our expenditure against this contract totalled £584,387 (excluding VAT) in financial year 2013-14.The contract is mainly used for the purchase of academic, technical, medical and trade publications for the MOD colleges, training centres, technical information centres and medical units, including those in operational theatres. A small number of recreational titles are provided for use in personnel recovery centres.

Armed Forces: Housing

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the (a) management, (b) maintenance and (c) lost income costs of empty service accommodation were in each of the last five years; and what (i) size and (ii) type of properties have been vacant in that period.

Anna Soubry: The costs to manage and maintain Service Family Accommodation (SFA) are broadly the same whether the accommodation is occupied or vacant. No calculation of lost income for vacant properties is made. The percentage of vacant SFA properties is shown below: As at 31 March 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 Void Percentage 15% 12% 13% 16% 19%   This gradual increase in vacant properties is due to preparation for the return of personnel from Germany.

Written Questions

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proportion of named day written questions were answered by his Department within the prescribed period in the (a) 2012-13 session, (b) 2013-14 session and (c) 2014-15 session to date.

Anna Soubry: As at 9 September 2014 the Ministry of Defence had answered 62% of written questions for answer on a named day, during the 2014-15 session of Parliament, on the day named.Departmental performance information, for ordinary and named day Parliamentary Questions, is collated by the Office of the Leader of the House of Commons and submitted to the Procedure Committee. This is published on a sessional basis by the committee, and includes evidence regarding Departmental performance. The monitoring report relating to the 2012-13 session was published on 13 February 2014 as HC1046. The report covering statistics relating to performance during the 2013-14 session will be published very shortly by the Procedure Committee.

Submarines

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many suitably qualified and experienced personnel staff are currently required and how many such positions are vacant in (a) Astute, (b) Vanguard and (c) Trafalgar class submarine crews.

Anna Soubry: The information requested, as at 8 September 2014, is shown in the following table:REQUIRED POSITIONS(LIABILITY)VACANT POSITIONSA Class (Astute, Ambush only)28025T Class (Torbay, Trenchant, Talent, Triumph only)62065V Class (Vanguard, Victorious, Vigilant only)1,080120Note: All figures are rounded in accordance with the Defence Statistics rounding policy. All numbers over 100 are rounded to the nearest 10 with numbers ending in 5 rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to avoid bias. Numbers under 100 are rounded to the nearest 5. None of the existing vacancies is in a post categorised as safety critical and no submarine would go to sea without the minimum required complement of suitably qualified and experienced personnel.

Iraq

Mr Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what plans his Department has to increase military aid being sent to Kurdish fighters in Iraq.

Mr Philip Dunne: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence the Member for Sevenoaks (Michael Fallon) laid a Written Ministerial Statement on 9 September 2014 (Official Report, column 33WS) on the gifting of military equipment to the Government of Iraq, including the Kurdish Regional Government. The UK is also facilitating the transport of weapons and ammunition from allied countries. The Department has no plans at present to expand military assistance beyond this, but work is ongoing with partner nations, the Government of Iraq and the Ministry of Peshmerga to identify Kurdish requirements and the best way of meeting them.



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Army Reserve

Sir Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 8 September 2014, UIN 208084, on Army Reserve, what the current size of the Regular Army Reserve of Officers (RARO) is; if he will encourage RARO to join the Army Reserve as part of the plans to increase the strength of the reserve; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Julian Brazier: At 1 April 2014, there were 8,970 members of the Regular Army Reserve of Officers.The Army encourages those who are eligible when leaving the Service to consider joining the Army Reserve. This includes an attachment or visit to a Reserve unit to provide awareness of the reserve opportunities in the area where they have chosen to live. Reserve service is also promoted at employment fairs for service leavers, Career Transition Workshops and as part of interviews by Regimental Careers Management Officers.Following discharge from the Regular Army, both officers (Captain and below) and soldiers are actively encouraged to join the Army Reserve as part of the annual reporting letter which they receive on the anniversary of their discharge from the Army. This includes advice on the financial incentives available to individuals who may wish to join the Army Reserve including up to £10,000 for ex-regular officers and soldiers who undertake a full reservist commitment of a minimum of 27 days training per annum and the tax-free bounty available to those undertaking a reduced commitment of 19 days annual training.Between 1 April 2013 and 30 June 2014, 265 ex-regular officers have joined the trained strength of the Army Reserve.

Department for Work and Pensions

Work Programme

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make it his policy to release work programme provider performance data according to the age of participant.

Steve Webb: Each Work Programme statistical release gives a breakdown of provider performance against published minimum performance levels by payment group. These groups are assigned by the age of the claimant and the benefit they are in receipt of at the time of referral to the programme.Information on the Work Programme split by age and contract can be found on the tabulation tool which (as well as the statistical release information) can be found at:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/work-programme-statistics--2

Older People: Recruitment

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to support older jobseekers in going through online recruitment processes.

Steve Webb: Jobcentre Plus operate a number of different approaches to support Older Claimants in getting back to work and this includes measures aimed at improving digital knowledge and awareness to support people in modern recruitment processes. Local schemes in place include intensive IT courses to cover IT fundamentals such as the use of MS Word, emailing and the internet. Work Programme providers have the freedom to develop their support for claimants, including older jobseekers; this can include support with online recruitment processes.

Work Programme

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to allow early entry to the work programme for unemployed older people.

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will bring forward proposals for a new Work Programme payment group for older jobseekers.

Steve Webb: Prior to referral to the Work Programme, Jobcentre work coaches offer a comprehensive range of support to individuals, including older jobseekers.There are no plans to bring forward legislative proposals to allow early entry to the work programme for unemployed older people nor do we have plans to introduce a new Work Programme payment group for older jobseekers.

Personal Independence Payment

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how the costs of administering and providing personal independence payment decisions are monitored and value for money reviewed for improvement.

Mr Mark Harper: We keep the costs under continuous review and this information will be used to support the future development of unit cost benchmarks.

Asbestos

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many full-time Health and Safety Executive officers were employed to monitor asbestos removal in each month since May 2010.

Mr Mark Harper: The information requested is not held. All HSE construction inspectors are trained to enforce the management and control of asbestos by duty holders and routinely deal with asbestos issues in their everyday work. The majority of construction inspectors are further trained to inspect notified licensed asbestos removal work. The table provides the average number of full-time equivalent operational inspectors who visited construction sites on a day-to-day basis for the years 2010/11 to 2013/14. 2010/112011/122012/132013/14147141137129

Personal Independence Payment

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the average cost of a personal independence payment decision, including assessment costs and departmental administration.

Mr Mark Harper: The costs of administering the PIP assessment process were published in the NAO report in February 2014.

Asbestos

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what records his Department holds on the number of occasions on which Health and Safety Executive asbestos removal inspectors have undertaken visits to sites outside normal business working hours.

Mr Mark Harper: HSE does not hold records on the number of occasions when site visits occur outside normal business working hours.

Access to Work Programme

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many disabled people are using Access to Work support for a (a) work trial, (b) work experience opportunity under the Youth contract, (c)  supported internship, (d) traineeship and (e) pre-employment training work placement.

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many disabled people have received new support from the Access to Work scheme to participate in internships, traineeships and work placements in each month since September 2013.

Steve Webb: We do not collect data about disabled people using Access to Work as requested, therefore the information is not available.

Age: Discrimination

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to help Jobcentre Plus, Work Programme and voluntary providers to tackle age discrimination.

Steve Webb: Work Programme providers deliver personalised support, tailored to the individual needs of participants. Providers are bound through the terms of their contract to prevent unlawful discrimination and promote equality of opportunity in respect of age.  Jobcentre Plus have the freedom to use a range of innovative measures to help older claimants overcome any barriers associated with age. Local schemes include IT support aimed specifically at older people; dedicated advisers for those aged over 50; and help to convert dated qualifications into certifications that are relevant for modern employers.

Disadvantaged: EU Grants and Loans

Mr Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much the UK has drawn down from the Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived to date.

Mr Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much the UK was entitled to draw down from the Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived to date.

Esther McVey: As the UK allocation from the Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived (FEAD) is deducted from our European Social Fund and the European Regional Development Fund allocations, we minimised the adverse impact on those funds by taking the lowest possible allocation. The UK’s allocation for the period 2014-2020 is €3.96m in current prices.

Affordable Housing

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the contribution of 5 September 2014 by the Minister of State for Disabled People, of 5 September 2014, Official Report, columns 554-64, if he will publish the evidential basis for the statement that implementation of the Affordable Homes Bill would cost £1 billion; when those calculations were made; and by whom they were calculated.

Mr Mark Harper: The calculation of the cost of about £1 billion for the Affordable Homes Bill was made on Thursday 4th September by Departmental Officials following an assessment of the potential effects of the provisions set out in the draft Bill at Second Reading.The potential cost was estimated using administrative data (Single Housing Benefit Extract) and the department’s policy simulation model. The following assumptions were made:The bill in effect nullifies the removal of the spare room subsidy policy, which would negate the projected savings from being realised;That Clause 2 as currently drafted would result in non-dependent deductions falling out of the calculation of Housing Benefit but would bring in ineligible service charges for all claimants who are social sector tenants (including pensioners) who meet the conditions described at Clause 2 (1) (a), (b) and (c) regardless of whether or not they are affected by the Removal of the Spare Room Subsidy.

Employment and Support Allowance

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether a claimant refused Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) by a decision maker on the grounds that their health had improved by the time of the decision, having obtained sufficient points to receive ESA in an earlier Work Capability Assessment, should be paid ESA in arrears for the period of their ill health; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Mark Harper: An Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) claimant will be paid at the assessment rate until a determination is made about their eligibility for the benefit. DWP Decision Makers make the final decision and as such no claimant will have obtained any points before the Decision Maker awards points as appropriate against the work capability assessment descriptors. Where an ESA claimant’s health improves to the extent that they are no longer entitled to the benefit, ESA will be paid at the appropriate rate up until the date of change. This is not a payment of arrears but the continuing amount rightly due. ESA claimants are expected to notify the Department when their condition improves to the extent that they are likely to no longer be eligible for ESA.

Unemployment Benefits

Chris Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people have made at least one claim for out of work benefits in each region and constituent part of the UK since May 2010.

Steve Webb: The information requested is not available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Flexible Support Fund

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Flexible Support Fund in supporting older jobseekers.

Steve Webb: The Department has not conducted any specific evaluation work on the use of Flexible Support Fund for older jobseekers.

Work Programme

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment he has made of local authority involvement in the Work Programme; and if he will make a statement.

Steve Webb: The Department has commissioned external researchers to undertake a comprehensive evaluation of the Work Programme which includes surveys and qualitative research with providers, participants and DWP staff. The research asks providers some questions about their work with other agencies but it does not specifically ask about local authority involvement.

Employment Schemes: Young People

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what comparative assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Youth Contract Wage Incentive scheme in the 20 Hotspot areas and in other areas.

Steve Webb: We do not collect data in a form that allows it to be reported at the requested level and are therefore unable to make comparative assessments between areas.

Department of Health

In Vitro Fertilisation

Bob Blackman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will revise his definition of genetic modification to include manipulations of mitochondrial DNA.

George Freeman: The Department decided that, because there is no existing universally agreed definition of genetic modification in humans, it would adopt a working definition. The definition that has been adopted is that genetic modification involves the germ-line modification of nuclear DNA (in the chromosomes) that can be passed on to future generations.   We have no current plans to revise the working definition but will keep it under review.

Childbirth

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many babies who were born before 24 weeks gestation survived in each of the last five years.

Dr Daniel Poulter: The latest data published by the Office for National Statistics in October 2013 shows that very few live births occur before 24 weeks gestation. Infant mortality rates for babies born this early remain extremely high. For babies born in 2011, 1 in 1,000 of live births occurred at less than 24 weeks; the infant mortality rate for these babies was 894.7 deaths per 1,000 live births.   Data from the Epicure series of studies of survival and later health among babies and young people who were born at extremely low gestations found there was no difference in the ongoing illnesses or complications affecting surviving babies born between 22 and 25 weeks gestation in 1995 and 2006. High levels of disability were present at 6 years of age in surviving children born before 24 weeks, including cerebral palsy, low cognitive scores, mobility problems, blindness or profound hearing loss.   The following table shows the most recently available data on the number of live births prior to 24 weeks gestation, and the number of those births that survived until one year of age, in England and Wales. The data for 2007 and 2008 has been combined.Gestational age (weeks)Number of live birthsNumber of survived babies up until 1 year after birth 2011Under 22 weeks & birthweight < 1,000g220422 weeks1781023 weeks305602010Under 22 weeks & birthweight < 1,000g247522 weeks1711123 weeks332762009Under 22 weeks & birthweight < 1,000g235422 weeks1521023 weeks296792007/08Under 22 weeks & birthweight < 1,000g3681022 weeks3122023 weeks683135   Source: ONS

Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome

Mrs Mary Glindon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 24 June 2014, Official Report, columns 156-7W, on ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS), if he will make it his policy that all cases of OHSS are recorded in official statistics and not only those that require hospital admission or are graded as severe.

Jane Ellison: The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority has advised that there is not currently an evidence base to predict the cohort of patients that may develop ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS). This means that there would be little clinical value in requiring licensed fertility clinics to report every incidence of OHSS.

Abortion

Bob Blackman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will direct the General Medical Council to release papers relating to the pre-signing of abortion HSA1 certificates by doctors to the police for investigation under the Offences Against the Person Act 1861 and Perjury Act 1911.

Jane Ellison: The Department considers the pre-signing of forms without any consideration of information relating to the woman to be incompatible with the requirements of the Abortion Act.   The General Medical Council (GMC) is an independent statutory body, and the Secretary of State does not have any express legal powers to direct the GMC.

Blood: Contamination

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many times his Department has received applications for (a) additional funding or (b) other support from the funds and trusts which provide support to people with contaminated blood in each of the last five years.

Jane Ellison: The Department only provides funding to the five financial support schemes which provide support to people infected with HIV and/or hepatitis C as a result of treatment with contaminated National Health Service supplied blood or blood products.   The Macfarlane Trust, the Eileen Trust and the Caxton Foundation are given an annual budget allocation and are required to operate within the budget envelope of that allocation and any reserves they may hold. The Department provides MFET Ltd and the Skipton Fund with sufficient funds to meet all legitimate claims for the payments that they are mandated to make. In the last five years, the Department has received one business case for additional funding from the Macfarlane Trust, and one from the Caxton Foundation.

Mental Health Services: Out of Area Treatment

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, in which locations mental health patients have been sent for out-of-area treatments since May 2010.

Norman Lamb: We do not centrally hold information on the locations where mental health patients have been sent for out-of-area treatments since May 2010.

Barnsley Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will take steps to address the shortage of junior doctors at Barnsley Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.

Dr Daniel Poulter: This is an operational matter for Barnsley Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.We have written to Stephen Wragg, Chair of the Barnsley Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, informing him of the hon. Member’s enquiry. He will reply shortly and a copy of the letter will be placed in the Library.

Mental Health Services: Young People

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the national Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services' budget is for the present financial year.

Norman Lamb: Information on expenditure on mental health is not collected centrally. There is, in addition, no single budget for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) since these are commissioned by clinical commissioning groups (CCGs), NHS England, local authorities (LAs) and by schools and comprise many different services.   NHS England only holds the budget for directly commissioned services and does not collect the data for services commissioned by CCGs and LAs.   NHS England has recently undertaken a data collection exercise on the CAMHS services it directly commissions to clarify the level of planned spend for 2014/15, within the individual Mental Health contracts. This data is still being validated and therefore a definitive figure is not available at this stage, however, the figures indicate that the planned spend is in the region of £260 million.   In addition, the NHS England Children and Young People’s Improving Access to Psychological Therapies Transformation programme of existing Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services is supporting services to deliver evidence based, outcomes focussed user-led services. Its budget is approximately £17 million for 2014-15.

Home Office

Passports

Mr David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the longest time is for which a passport application has been waiting to be processed from receipt at the passport office to delivery to applicant for (a) new applications and (b) applications for renewal of passport in the period from 1 January 2014 to 31 May 2014.

Norman Baker: In the period to which you refer, the longest waiting time for completion of (a) a new application and (b) for a renewal was both 135 days. In the case of the new application, the applicant failed to provide the required supporting documentation with their application. Her Majesty's Passport Office (HMPO)made five separate requests, over the next three months for the documentationto be supplied. The applicant finally supplied the documents over four months after the date of the application. HMPO issued the passport eight days afterreceipt of the documentation. In the case of the renewal, an application was made to renew a child’s passport with a change of name. HMPO wrote to the parent on seven occasions seeking additional information concerning parental responsibility and agreement to the change of name. A court order confirmingthe change of name was forwarded by the applicant over four months afterthe date of application. The passport was issued seven days after receipt of the court order.

Police Custody: Children

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the number of children detained in police custody under the Mental Health Act 1983 in each year since May 2010.

Mike Penning: The Home Office does not hold this information centrally. The Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) published data for 2012/13 showing that 263 children and young people aged under 18 were detained in police custody under Section 136 of the Mental Health Act 1983, out of a total of 7,761 people detained in police cells under Section 136 that year. This was the first time this data was collected from police forces and the HSCIC have indicated that this data is incomplete as not all police forces responded and some police force returns were based on estimates.The Mental Health Crisis Care Concordat, published by the Government in February this year, includes an action for the Home Office and the National Police Lead for Mental Health to develop a data toolkit to enable the police to quantify the demand for responses to people in mental health crisis, including whether a person is detained in police custody. The toolkit is currently being tested by the Metropolitan Police Service, British Transport Police and Thames Valley Police with a view to subsequent roll-out across forces in England and Wales. The Home Office is working with the Department of Health on a review of the operation of Sections 135 and 136 of the Mental Health Act 1983. This is with a view to ensuring that young people with mental health problems are not unnecessarily detained in police custody. We aim to publish a joint report later this year.

Entry Clearances: China

Mr Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will bring forward proposals to enable Chinese nationals to make a single application for a UK and a Schengen visa.

James Brokenshire: We have on 30 June rolled out an online system enabling applicants in China simultaneously to complete a UK and Schengen Visa application form. Talk are ongoing with European partners about further streamlining visa processes with Schengen zone countries to make trips to the UK even easier for Chinese visitors.

Gangmasters: Licensing

Stephen Barclay: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many licences have been revoked by the Gangmasters Licensing Authority in each of the last three years.

Karen Bradley: The following table shows licence revocations for the following completed financial years:2013/14 – 182012/13 – 162011/12 – 30NOTE: These are ‘finalised’ revocations where the licence holder’s name has been removed from the GLA public register and any submitted appeals have been concluded (withdrawn, dismissed or dealt with in court) or the deadline for appeals to be lodged have lapsed.

Slavery

Mr Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what data her Department holds on the number, region and countries of origin of male and female victims of modern slavery and human trafficking who have been referred to the Salvation Army in the last 10 years; if she will publish the data in a medium which hon. Members can readily access; and if she will make a statement.

Karen Bradley: The Salvation Army has been delivering support to victims of human trafficking since July 2011. They publish an annual report which summarises their activity over the year (July-June), including the number, region and countries of origin of male and female victims. The reports for 2011-12 and 2012-13 can be found on The Salvation Army’s website here: http://www.salvationarmy.org.uk/uki/Anti_Human_Trafficking_Latest_Report. The report for 2013-14 will be published later this year.

Human Trafficking

Mr Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, further to her Answers of 8 September 2014, Official Report, column 467W and 22 July 2014, Official Report, column 1105W, if she will make available the number of victims referred to the Salvation Army in May and August 2014 in a format which can be downloaded and printed.

Karen Bradley: The Salvation Army has committed to publishing data on victims of human trafficking on a monthly basis. The data is now available in a format which can be downloaded and printed and it can be accessed here: http://www.salvationarmy.org.uk/uki/Anti_Human_Trafficking_Latest_Report .

Human Trafficking

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to her contribution of 8 July 2014, Official Report, column 168, on the Modern Slavery Bill, if she will publish the interim review of the National Referral Mechanism before the Committee stage of that Bill is completed; and when she will publish the final review.

Karen Bradley: The House of Commons Committee Stage of the Modern Slavery Bill is expected to conclude on 14 October. We will publish the Interim Report of the Review before that date in order that the Committee can consider the Report. We will publish the final report in late autumn.

Offences against Children

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many police officers are deployed on Operation Fernbridge.

Mike Penning: Operation Fernbridge is an ongoing police operation led by the Metropolitan Police Service. Resourcing of the operation is a matter for the MPS Commissioner.

Wales Office

Written Questions

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what proportion of named day written questions were answered by his Department within the prescribed period in the (a) 2012-13 session, (b) 2013-14 session and (c) 2014-15 session to date.

Alun Cairns: The information requested is shown below:(a) 2012-13 session: 98% of named day questions were answered on the nominated day;(b) 2013-14 session: 96% of named day questions were answered on the nominated day;(c) 2014-15 to date: 100% of named day questions have been answered on the nominated day.Departmental performance information, for ordinary and named day Parliamentary Questions, is collated by the Office of the Leader of the House of Commons and submitted to the Procedure Committee. This is published on a sessional basis by the committee, and includes evidence regarding departmental performance. The monitoring report relating to the 2012-13 session was published on 13 February 2014 as HC1046. The report covering statistics relating to performance during the 2013-14 session will be published very shortly by the Procedure Committee.

HM Treasury

Minimum Wage

Emily Thornberry: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the sum was of unpaid wages involved in each of the cases where employers have been prosecuted for non-payment of the minimum wage since 1999.

Mr David Gauke: The Government takes the enforcement of NMW very seriously and HMRC review every complaint that is referred to them, investigating the complaint and, in addition, carrying out targeted enforcement where we identify a high risk of non-payment of NMW. With the agreement of the Department for Business Innovation and Skills, HMRC started prosecution for minimum wage offences from August 2007. The total sum of arrears involved in cases where employers have been prosecuted is £20,034. Criminal investigations do not guarantee arrears being paid to workers and are reserved only for the most serious cases. The Government is cracking down on employers who break the law and have increased the financial penalty percentage that employers pay for breaking minimum wage law from 50 per cent to 100 per cent and the maximum penalty has increased from £5,000 to £20,000. The revised penalty is calculated as 100 per cent of the total underpayment for all of the workers specified in a Notice of Underpayment relating to pay reference periods that commence on or after 7 March 2014.

Minimum Wage

Emily Thornberry: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many non-criminal financial penalties were issued by HM Revenue and Customs to employers for underpayment of the minimum wage in each of the last six financial years.

Emily Thornberry: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many employers were found by HM Revenue and Customs to have paid the minimum wage in each of the last six financial years.

Mr David Gauke: The Government takes the enforcement of National Minimum Wage (NMW) very seriously and HMRC enforce NMW legislation on behalf of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and has done so since the introduction of NMW in April 1999. The vast majority of employers obey the law and pay their employees at least the national minimum wage. HMRC investigates all complaints made about employers suspected of not paying the minimum wage, in addition to carrying out targeted enforcement where it identifies a high risk of non-payment of NMW across the whole of the UK. The number of penalties issued for non-payment of National Minimum Wage for the timescales requested is set out below:   Financial yearPenalties issuedPenalties amount2008/09N/A*N/A*2009/10381£111,1832010/11934£520,5682011/12906£766,8072012/13708£776,5172013/14652£815,269  *Civil penalties were introduced on 6 April 2009 for employers who are found to have underpaid their workers. I refer the honourable member to my response of 6 May 2014, Hansard Column 110W. In 2008/09, there were 4317 complete inspections with 1746 incidences of non-compliance.  In all years, the remaining investigations did not highlight sufficient evidence to prove non-compliance with the National Minimum Wage Act.

Written Questions

Hilary Benn: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what proportion of named day written questions were answered by his Department within the prescribed period in the (a) 2012-13 session, (b) 2013-14 session and (c) 2014-15 session to date.

Andrea Leadsom: Departmental performance information, for ordinary and named day Parliamentary Questions, is collated by the Office of the Leader of the House of Commons and submitted to the Procedure Committee. This is published on a sessional basis by the committee, and includes evidence regarding departmental performance. The monitoring report relating to the 2012-13 session was published on 13 February 2014 as HC1046. The report covering statistics relating to performance during the 2013-14 session will be published very shortly by the Procedure Committee.  During the 2014-15 session to date (8 September) Treasury Ministers have answered 74% of named day questions that have been tabled.

Fuel Oil: VAT

Ms Margaret Ritchie: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will take steps to reduce the level of VAT on kerosene home heating oil; and if he will make a statement.

Mr David Gauke: Kerosene used as a domestic heating fuel is already subject to a reduced rate of VAT at 5 per cent, which is the lowest rate the UK can apply under EU law.

Tax Avoidance

Richard Fuller: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make it his policy that HM Revenue and Customs collect detailed statistics on tax avoidance separately from data on general compliance.

Mr David Gauke: HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) are developing a new system to allow them to interrogate more easily data on avoidance. This system will complement other strategic HMRC case management systems.

Tax Avoidance

Richard Fuller: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will introduce a threshold for the maximum proportion of a person’s assets HM Revenue and Customs should seek as advance payment on tax avoidance schemes to prevent people becoming bankrupt.

Mr David Gauke: HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) will treat Accelerated Payments as a debt like any other, so HMRC will be able to use their normal considerations and flexibilities in cases of genuine hardship. HMRC will consider alternative payment arrangements as they do with any debt. The priority in cases of genuine hardship will be to get people onto a payment track so that the debt is paid as quickly as possible. It would be complex and costly to assess the ability of all those due an Accelerated Payment notice to pay the notice in advance of issuing it. It also risks creating a rigid approach that does not provide the flexibility to treat individual cases on their own terms. HMRC will equally be able to use their full range of debt collection powers as necessary to recover what is owed by the taxpayer, including insolvency powers in the most extreme cases.  HMRC will always ensure that its action is proportionate and the particular action will always depend on the precise facts and circumstances of the particular taxpayer.

Offshore Industry: Taxation

Caroline Lucas: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the forecast cost is of tax relief arising from the (a) petroleum revenue tax oil allowance, (b) petroleum revenue tax tariff receipts allowance and (c) Ring Fence Expenditure Supplement and (i) ultra-heavy oil field, (ii) ultra-high pressure/high temperature field, (iii) small or gas field, (iv) deep water gas field, (v) large-deep water oil field, (vi) large-shallow water gas field, (vii) brownfield and (viii) remote deep-water gas field allowances in each year from 2014-15 to 2017-18.

Caroline Lucas: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the total cost of tax relief from the (a) petroleum revenue tax oil allowance, (b) petroleum revenue tax tariff receipts allowance and (c) Ring Fence Expenditure Supplement and (i) ultra-heavy oil field, (ii) ultra-high pressure/high temperature field, (iii) small or gas field, (iv) deep water gas field, (v) large-deep water oil field, (vi) large-shallow water gas field, (vii) brownfield and (viii) remote deep-water gas field allowances in each year from 2014-15 to 2017-18.

Priti Patel: HMRC publish historical estimates of the costs of tax expenditures and structural reliefs. The costs of PRT Oil Allowance and Tariff Receipts Allowance were featured in the latest release in April 2014 as follows:2012-13 2013-14Oil Allowance £95mn £80mnTariff Receipts Allowance £35mn £25mn There are provisions for the costs of these allowances in the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) forecasts of UK Oil and Gas Petroleum Revenue Tax for Budgets, Autumn Statements and Fiscal Sustainability Reports, but the costs are not specifically identified, so there are no estimated costs available for 2014-15 to 2017-18. There are also provisions for the costs of Ring Fence Expenditure Supplement (RFES) and the variety of field allowances available in the OBR Corporation Tax forecasts, but the specific costs have not been identified. The estimated impacts of RFES and field allowances, in terms of the direct costs and the effect on the investment in the sector, are included in the published policy costing notes. The effect of the increase of RFES from 6% to 10% from January 2012, as featured in the Autumn Statement 2011 policy costing note is an estimated tax cost to the Exchequer of £5 million in 2014-15, £50 million in 2015-16 and £10 million in 2016-17. RFES was introduced from January 2006 and costs for 2014-15 onwards were not estimated at that time. The effect of the increase in small field allowance from £75 million to £150 million and the introduction of the Large Deep Water Oil field allowance in Budget 2012 was estimated to be a tax gain to the Exchequer of £45 million in 2014-15, no net tax impact in 2015-16 and a tax cost to Exchequer of £45 million in 2016-17 (of which the direct costs in reduced corporation tax were estimated at £10 million, £20 million and £65 million, respectively). The effect of the introduction of Brown Field Allowance and the Large Shallow Water Gas field allowance in Autumn Statement 2012 was estimated to be a tax cost to the Exchequer of £165 million in 2014-15, £255 million in 2015-16, £230 million in 2016-17 and £165 million in 2017-18 (of which the direct costs in reduced CT were estimated at £45 million, £80 million, £85 million and £90 million, respectively).  Estimates of the costs of introducing Small Field allowance, Ultra High Pressure/High Temperature field allowance and Ultra Heavy Oil field allowance in March 2009, and Deep Water Gas field allowance in January 2010, are not available for 2014-15 onwards.

Offshore Industry: Taxation

Caroline Lucas: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the forecast cost is of tax relief arising from Decommissioning Relief Deeds provided to companies operating in the UK and UK Continental Shelf in each year from 2014-15 to 2017-18.

Priti Patel: As set out in the Government’s Written Ministerial Statement on Decommissioning Relief Deeds of 21st July 2014, the Government has not made any changes to the tax regime that would generate a liability to be paid under any decommissioning relief agreements.

Department for Energy and Climate Change

Staff

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what the total staff cost has been of (a) the Office of Unconventional Oil and Gas, (b) the Office of Carbon Capture and Storage, (c) his Department's human resources services, (d) the EMR delivery unit and (e) his Department's press office in each year since June 2010.

Amber Rudd: Business Area2010-112011-122012-132013-14 £(k)£(k)£(k)£(k)Unconventional Oil & Gas---448OCCS1,4191,7622,5152,570HR1,3851,6141,9682,044EMR Delivery Unit---4,299Communications (incl. Press Office)1,7641,4081,6432,384   Business Area  2010-11  2011-12  2012-13  2013-14 £(k)  £(k)  £(k)  £(k)  Unconventional Oil & Gas  -  -  -  448  OCCS  1,419  1,762  2,515  2,570  HR  1,385  1,614  1,968  2,044  EMR Delivery Unit  -  -  -  4,299  Communications (incl. Press Office)  2,678  2,223  2,450  2,384

Amber Rudd: Business Area2010-112011-122012-132013-14 £(k)£(k)£(k)£(k)Unconventional Oil & Gas---448OCCS1,4191,7622,5152,570HR1,3851,6141,9682,044EMR Delivery Unit---4,299Communications (incl. Press Office)1,7641,4081,6432,384   Business Area  2010-11  2011-12  2012-13  2013-14 £(k)  £(k)  £(k)  £(k)  Unconventional Oil & Gas  -  -  -  448  OCCS  1,419  1,762  2,515  2,570  HR  1,385  1,614  1,968  2,044  EMR Delivery Unit  -  -  -  4,299  Communications (incl. Press Office)  2,678  2,223  2,450  2,384

Television

Mr Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how much his Department spent on the purchase of televisions in (a) 2013 and (b) 2014 to date.

Amber Rudd: The Department has no recorded expenditure on the purchase of televisions in either year.  The Department of Energy & Climate Change did not purchase any televisions in 2013. In 2014 three televisions were purchased at a cost of £851.82. In addition, two televisions were purchased as part of a new video-conferencing kit (for which they are exclusively used) but these were not priced separately.

Amber Rudd: The Department has no recorded expenditure on the purchase of televisions in either year.  The Department of Energy & Climate Change did not purchase any televisions in 2013. In 2014 three televisions were purchased at a cost of £851.82. In addition, two televisions were purchased as part of a new video-conferencing kit (for which they are exclusively used) but these were not priced separately.

EU Law

Mr John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how many new EU directives and regulations have been transposed into UK law by his Department since May 2010.

Amber Rudd: Since May 2010, DECC has enacted legislation to transpose 7 new EU Directives and 6 new EU Regulations into UK law. A list of the relevant Directives and Regulations is set out below:Directive 2009/28/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2009 on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources and amending and subsequently repealing Directives 2001/77/EC and 2003/30/ECDirective 2009/29/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2009 amending Directive 2003/87/EC so as to improve and extend the greenhouse gas emission allowance trading scheme of the CommunityDirective 2009/31/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2009 on the geological storage of carbon dioxide and amending Council Directive 85/337/EEC, European Parliament and Council Directives 2000/60/EC, 2001/80/EC, 2004/53/EC, 2006/12/EC, 2008/1/EC and Regulation EC No 1013/2006Directive 2009/72/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 July 2009 concerning common rules for the internal market in electricity and repealing Directive 2003/54/ECDirective 2009/73/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 July 2009 concerning common rules for the internal market in natural gas and repealing Directive 2003/55/ECDirective 2009/119/EC imposing an obligation to maintain minimum stocks of crude oil and/or petroleum productsDirective 2012/27/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2012 on energy efficiency, amending Directives 2009/125/EC and 2010/30/EU and repealing Directives 2004/8/EC and 2006/32/ECRegulation 2009/713/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing an Agency for the Cooperation of Energy RegulatorsRegulation (EC) No 714/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council on conditions for access to the network for cross-border exchanges in electricity and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1228/2003Regulation (EC) No 715/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council on conditions for access to the natural gas transmission networks and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1775/2005Regulation No. 1227/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council on wholesale energy market integrity and transparencyRegulation No. 267/2012 of the Council concerning restrictive measures against Iran and repealing EU Regulation No. 961/2010 (OJ No L 88, 24.3.2012), as amendedRegulation (EU) No 347/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 April 2013 on guidelines for trans-European energy infrastructure and repealing Decision No 1364/2006/EC and amending Regulations (EC) No 713/2009, (EC) No 714/2009 and (EC) No 715/2009

Boilers

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what further steps he plans to take to encourage the upgrade of boilers in off gas grid areas.

Matthew Hancock: The Government is actively encouraging all householders, whether on or off the gas grid, to invest in energy efficiency and reduce their energy bills.

Green Deal Scheme

Graham Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what estimate he has made of the proportion of Green Deal Home Improvement funding that has been allocated to deprived areas.

Amber Rudd: The Green Deal Home Improvement Fund (GDHIF) is applied for by householders on a non means tested basis across England and Wales.Currently the department has not published any geographic breakdowns on GDHIF, as these would form part of the more detailed quarterly series of statistics (https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/green-deal-and-energy-company-obligation-eco-statistics#quarterly-statistics).

Offshore Industry

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what discussions he has had with (a) the Health and Safety Executive, (b) offshore trade unions and (c) Oil and Gas UK on accommodation standards for offshore oil and gas workers on installations in the North Sea.

Matthew Hancock: I have had no such discussions.

Energy: Prices

Julie Elliott: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, pursuant to the statement by the Minister of State at his Department on 2 September 2014 in the Second Delegated Legislation Committee, that in winter 2013-14 average bills being paid by British Gas customers were £90 lower, what the evidential basis was for that statement.

Matthew Hancock: Centrica has stated that they expect the average bill of British Gas customers to be £90 lower in 2014 compared to 2013 in their 2014 H1 Interim Results (available at this link.) http://www.centrica.com/files/results/interim14/2014_interim_results.pdf

Northern Ireland Office

Donal Donnelly

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether the exercise of the Royal Prerogative of Mercy in relation to Mr Donal Donnelly in 1985 was published in the Belfast and London Gazettes; and if she will make a statement.

Mrs Theresa Villiers: There are no statutory requirements relating to the publication of pardons granted under the Royal Prerogative of Mercy and I am not aware of the Royal Prerogative of Mercy in relation to Mr Donal Donnelly being published in the Belfast or London gazettes.

Written Questions

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what proportion of named day written questions were answered by her Department within the prescribed period in the (a) 2012-13 session, (b) 2013-14 session and (c) 2014-15 session to date.

Mrs Theresa Villiers: The information requested is shown below:(a) 2012-13 session: 87% of named day questions were answered on the nominated day;(b) 2013-14 session: 83% of named day questions were answered on the nominated day;(c) 2014-15 to date: 88% of named day questions have been answered on the nominated day.Departmental performance information, for ordinary and named day Parliamentary Questions, is collated by the Office of the Leader of the House of Commons and submitted to the Procedure Committee. This is published on a sessional basis by the committee, and includes evidence regarding departmental performance. The monitoring report relating to the 2012-13 session was published on 13 February 2014 as HC1046. The report covering statistics relating to performance during the 2013-14 session will be published very shortly by the Procedure Committee.

Administrative Scheme for the "On the Runs" Independent Review

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, for what reason she has declined to disclose the number of recipients of On-The-Run comfort letters who have fled the jurisdiction of the UK since her statement following the Hallett Report on 17 July 2014; and if she will make a statement.

Mrs Theresa Villiers: I am not aware of the whereabouts of any individual who received a letter under the ‘on the runs’ administrative scheme and who may have left the UK since the publication of the Hallett Report. I am not therefore in a position to disclose the potential number of individuals concerned.Decisions about investigation and prosecution in specific cases, including seeking an individual’s extradition where necessary, will be taken by the independent police and prosecuting authorities.

Department for Culture Media and Sport

British Telecom

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions (a) he and (b) Ofcom have had with BT on increases in charges for line rental and broadband products.

Mr Edward Vaizey: I have regular discussions with BT on a range of matters. However, BT did not raise with me their recent increases in retail charges for line rental and broadband products, which are commercial matters. Neither has Ofcom had discussions with BT relating to these price rises.The UK has one of the most competitive markets for telecoms services in the world and as such BT customers who are concerned about BT’s price increases should be able to find alternative services to suit their requirements.

Energy

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he is taking to reduce energy costs in his Department; and if he will make a statement.

Mrs Helen Grant: DCMS is a tenant of HMRC at 100 Parliament Street and responsibility for energy efficiency rests with HMRC.

*No heading*

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what targets the Government has set for tackling homophobia in sports; and what steps have been taken to achieve those targets in the last 12 months.

Mrs Helen Grant: Although the Government does not set specific targets for tackling homophobia in sports, all National Governing Bodies (NGBs) are expected to demonstrate equality in sport and many support specific programmes such as the FA with its “Football’s for Everyone” anti-discrimination plan. The Government is committed to ensuring this expectation of equality is upheld and in March 2011 called for an end to homophobia and transphobia in sport with the launch of Tackling homophobia in sport: The Charter for Action.Since then over 40 NGBs and approximately 4,000 sports stars, fans and clubs from across the sporting world, including all professional football clubs, have signed up to the Charter.

Olympic Games 2012

Ian Lavery: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much has been spent in each region and constituent part of the UK in each year as part of the Olympic legacy.

Mrs Helen Grant: The National Audit Office (NAO) in their report ‘Preparations for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games Progress Report December 2011’ estimated that a total of £826m had been allocated to 18 Olympic and Paralympic legacy projects - it is not possible to break this funding down by nation/region or year within that period. An independent consortium led by Grant Thornton then carried out a meta-evaluation of the London 2012 Games’ impact and legacy for the Department of Culture, Media and Sport, the final report of which was published in July 2013. This report contained estimates of the economic impacts of the Games from 2004-2020, at 2009 prices, broken down by nation and region, which suggested the Gross Value Added benefits will be between £28-41bn (the relevant material is at pages 3-8 of Report 5: Post-Games evaluation – economic evidence base). Since the NAO report was published a number of additional legacy projects have been initiated, the details of which are provided below: · Primary PE and school sport premium – all state-funded primary schools in England have started to benefit from this premium, which is worth over £150m per year from September 2013 for three years · Join In – independent charity funded by the Cabinet Office’s Office for Civil Society to increase volunteering in community sport, build a Join In Local Leaders network and encourage the Olympic and Paralympic legacy of volunteering, at a cost of £6.2m up to the end of 2014/15. Join In activities funded by the Cabinet Office have taken place across England · The Big Lottery Fund has allocated £52m to projects aimed at securing a lasting community legacy to the Games. Within this funding the Fund set up Spirit of 2012 (Spirit) with an endowment of £47m. Spirit’s aim is to leave a lasting legacy from the London 2012 Games across the UK, and so is working across all of the nations and regions. To date Spirit has committed £11m to projects across the UK (since November 2013).

Olympic Games 2012

Ian Lavery: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much was invested in each region or constituent part of the UK as a result of London hosting the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Mrs Helen Grant: Figures representing the net gross value added by London hosting the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, broken down by UK region, are available in the Post-Games Evaluation of the “Meta-Evaluation of the Impacts and Legacy of the London 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games”, commissioned by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and published in July 2013. Data disaggregating the impact by public sector spending, spending by the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG), and other sources can be found in “Report 5: Post Games evaluation – economic evidence base”.

Sports: Public Participation

Ian Lavery: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what the sports participation figures in each sport in each region and constituent part of the UK were in the (a) two years before and (b) two years after the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Mrs Helen Grant: DCMS is not responsible for, and does not collect data on, sports participation in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The data in the table is from Sport England’s Active People Survey which measures the number of people regularly taking part in sport in England. Further analysis of the data, including a breakdown by sport, can be found here: http://activepeople.sportengland.org/  EnglandEastEast MidlandsLondonNorth WestWest MidlandsYorkshireSouth EastNorth EastSouth West2010/11 (APS5)14,758,900 (34.8%)1,644,100(34.7%)1,227,400(33.5%)2,228,000(35.4%)1,986,000(35.2%)1,440,000(32.7%)1,496,400(34.6%)2,470,600(35.7%)715,000(33.3%)1,551,500(35.7%)2011/12 (APS6)15,512,500(36.0%)1,709,000(36.0%)1,304,200(35.3%)2,398,000(36.5%)2,066,500(36.1%)1,511,200(33.5%)1,557,100(36.3%)2,622,300(37.4%)759,800(35.6%)1,584,400(36.2%)2012/13 (APS7)15,462,600(35.7%)1,678,700(35.1%)1,263,100(33.9%)2,466,200(37.2%)2,055,800(35.8%)1,512,400(33.3%)1,560,200(36.2%)2,609,200(37.0%)742,20(34.7%)1,574,800(35.8%)2013/14 (APS8 Q2)15,643,000(35.5%)1,716,600(35.3%)1,295,600(34.2%)2,497,800(36.7%)2,050,600(35.3%)1,516,000(33.0%)1,535,200(35.1%)2,646,300(36.9%)745,900(34.4%)1,639,100(36.7%)

Employment: Homophobia

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what targets the Government has set for tackling homophobia in the workplace; and what steps have been taken to achieve those targets in the last 12 months.

Jo Swinson: The Government has not set targets for tackling homophobia in the workplace; however, practical advice for employers and/or employees on dealing with homophobia is available via the following Government-funded bodies: acas, the Equality and Human Rights Commission; the Equalities Advisory and Support Service; and on GOV.UK.In March 2011 the Government published Working for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Equality: Moving Forward which set out the actions to be taken across Government to enhance equality for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGB&T) people. The Government is also providing match funding to the Citizens’ Advice European Union funded project to overcome barriers to employment and advancement in the workplace, which includes a specific focus on LGB&T people.

UN Women

Roberta Blackman-Woods: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will allocate funding to support the work of UN Women UK.

Jo Swinson: We are currently considering the merits of a request for funding that we received from the UK National Committee for Women on the 28th of August. The UK is the second largest donor to UN Women, providing £12.5m of funding each year.

Olympic Games 2012: Tourism

Sir Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what his most recent estimate is for tourist (a) numbers and (b) spend delivered as a result of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Mrs Helen Grant: The most recent estimate for tourism numbers and spend delivered as a result of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games was set out in VisitBritain’s ‘Shifting the Dial Report (July 2013). This showed there were 685,000 visits from overseas to the UK in July, August and September 2012 primarily due to, or involved attending an official ticketed event at the London 2012 Olympic or Paralympic Games. This rose to 871,000 visits if you include live free to view or cultural events such as the London 2012 Festival. These visits resulted in spend of £925 million. Overall for 2012, there was an increase in visits from overseas to the UK of 0.9% on 2011 to 31.1 million.Supported by VisitBritain’s GREAT Britain campaign, established as a means of promoting Britain as a great place to visit, study and do business with on the back of London 2012, there was a record 32.8 million inbound visits in 2013, up 5.6% on 2012. This also resulted in record spend (in nominal terms) up 12.7% on 2012 to £21 billion.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Waste Disposal

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will bring forward proposals to ensure that licence holders not local authorities pay costs arising from fires at waste disposal sites.

Dan Rogerson: The cost of waste disposal should be borne by the operator of a waste management site, including clearance after a waste fire. The Environment Agency has various powers under the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2010. It may serve notice on an operator who is in contravention of an environmental permit to take steps to remedy the situation, including the removal of waste. Where the Environment Agency considers that there is a risk of serious pollution from a regulated facility, it may take steps to remove the risk and charge back the costs to the operator.   Fire and Rescue Authorities have a statutory duty under section 7 of the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004 to extinguish fires and to protect life and property in their areas. The Government has no plans to amend the legislation to enable Fire and Rescue Authorities to charge for these functions.

Rivers

Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to institute infraction proceedings where Water Framework Directive river quality standards are not met.

Dan Rogerson: It is for the European Commission, in its role as guardian of the Treaties, to oversee the application of European Union law and institute infraction proceedings where it considers such action appropriate.   The standards which apply under the Water Framework Directive are set out in Directions from the Secretary of State to the Environment Agency. These standards are used by the Environment Agency in drawing up objectives for all water bodies in river basin management plans. These plans are then approved by the Secretary of State. All public bodies have a duty to have regard to these plans and the Environment Agency must exercise its functions to achieve the plans’ objectives.

Water Supply

Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what guidance her Department provides on (a) the future funding of catchment management partnerships and (b) the role of water companies; and if she will make a statement.

Dan Rogerson: Defra provided start-up funding to catchment partnership hosts of £1.6 million in the 2013/14 financial year and a further £2.2 million in 2014/15. Some of this funding was allocated to a national support group of representatives from the organisations that are hosting catchment partnerships to develop further guidance and support tools. This has included developing a ‘knowledge hub’ to help hosts share existing good practice around securing external funding. Defra continues to support this process through our ongoing evaluation of the catchment based approach to help guide partnerships further. The evaluation will also help to establish whether becoming fully self-sustaining partnerships remains a viable ambition. Catchment partnerships are able to draw in funding through other sectors and organisations. No decision has yet been made about future Defra funding for catchment partnerships.   In parallel, Defra continues to encourage water companies to play an active role in catchment partnerships. In our Strategic Policy Steer to OFWAT, we stipulated that it should provide a regulatory framework which enables water companies to consider funding catchment schemes where they are more cost effective than end-of-pipe treatment solutions. Defra’s ongoing evaluation shows that water companies are working closely with all catchment partnerships. As a result, we anticipate that there will be more catchment investment in water companies’ future business plans under the current Price Review process.

Sewage: Water Treatment

Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what guidance her Department provides on the level of phosphate discharge allowable from sewage treatment works under the Water Framework Directive; and what plans she has to review this guidance.

Dan Rogerson: In July Defra published updated Ministerial guidance to the Environment Agency to assist it in carrying out its river basin planning functions under the Water Framework Directive. This includes guidance on environmental standards such as phosphates standards.   Current phosphate standards are set out in Directions to the Environment Agency and will apply to the end of the current six-year planning cycle in 2015.   Updated standards for phosphate will apply for the next six-year river basin planning cycle. This follows a review and consultation by the UK Water Framework Directive Technical Advisory Group. The new standards will be reflected in revised Directions to the Agency.  The Environment Agency sets limits on discharges from sewage treatment works to achieve standards set out in the Directions.

Bovine Tuberculosis: South West

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether case trapping is being used in the (a) Gloucestershire and (b) Somerset badger cull.

George Eustice: In line with the badger control licence issued by Natural England and the Best Practice Guidance for contractors, cage trapping and controlled shooting are the two culling methods being used in both Somerset and Gloucestershire during this year's culls.

Sewage: Water Treatment

Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she has taken to ensure that the best available technology is used to reduce phosphate discharges into rivers at sewage treatment works in England.

Dan Rogerson: The Environment Agency sets permit limits for sewage works discharges to meet the Environmental Quality Standards required by the Water Framework Directive, as set out in supporting Directions from the Secretary of State. This includes the standards for phosphorus.   There has been considerable investment by water companies in phosphorus removal across the country. In order to meet the new standards, water companies propose further programmes of innovation in their business plans for 2015 to 2020, to optimise the performance of these plants and also to trial novel techniques. This will inform their investment decisions on the appropriate technology to achieve the Environmental Quality Standards.

Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority

Pay

Mr Ben Bradshaw: To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, how many employees of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, broken down by grade, have remained at the same grade since 2010 and in that period received pay rises.

Mr Charles Walker: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority. I have asked IPSA to reply. Letter from Marcial Boo, July 2014: As Chief Executive of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking about IPSA staffing. 29 of our current employees have worked for IPSA since 2010. Of those 29, 17 have remained at the same grade and received pay rises of 1% in 2012 and 2013. GradeNumberA1B11C3D0E2F0

Television

Mr Ben Bradshaw: To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, how much the Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority spent on televisions in (a) 2013 and (b) 2014 to date.

Mr Charles Walker: No such expenditure was incurred by the Committee in either 2013 or the current year.

Women and Equalities

Crime Prevention

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Ministers for Women and Equalities, what discussions the Government Equalities Office has had with hate crime prevention groups in the last 12 months.

Jo Swinson: The Government Equalities Office has not met hate crime prevention groups specifically, but meets regularly with stakeholders – such as Stonewall, the End Violence Against Women Coalition, and the Lesbian and Gay Foundation – to discuss a broad range of issues including hate crime. In addition, Government Equalities Office officials attend the Hate Crime Strategy Board, a cross-Government working group led by the Home Office and Ministry of Justice which considers policy and service improvements to prevent and reduce all forms of hate crime, and improve the criminal justice system’s response to such incidents.

Departmental Reorganisation

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Ministers for Women and Equalities, what assessment she has made of the effect on organisational capacity and productivity of moving the Government Equalities Office between parent Departments since 2010.

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Ministers for Women and Equalities, what the financial cost has been of moving the Government Equalities Office between parent Departments since 2010.

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Ministers for Women and Equalities, what assessments have been made since 2010 of the potential merits of establishing the Government Equalities Office within a permanent parent department or as a standalone department.

Jo Swinson: The Government Equalities Office (GEO) is a small policy unit which, under successive governments, has moved between parent Departments following changes of Ministerial portfolio. The resources, productivity and capacity of the GEO are kept under continuous review to ensure they are sufficient to deliver the Government’s equalities programme.No formal assessment has been made of the financial costs, other costs or benefits of relocating GEO staff. Following the recent reshuffle in July, the GEO will continue to be based in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and will serve the Ministers for Women and Equalities.

Gender Recognition

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Ministers for Women and Equalities, if she will make an assessment of the extent to which government policy on gender identity conforms to the Yogyakarta Principles on human rights law in relation to sexual orientation and gender identity; and what steps she has taken to ensure that policy conforms to those principles.

Jo Swinson: The UK Government is proud of its record in protecting and advancing the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender citizens and in promoting equal treatment abroad.The Yogyakarta Principles are a set of standards conceived by an independent group of human rights experts. The Principles have not been adopted by any nation state or international legislative body and the Government does not intend to undertake an assessment of the extent to which its policies conforms to them. However, our legislation, policy and practice in relation to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality meets, or surpasses, our international commitments and human rights requirements.

Intersex

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Ministers for Women and Equalities, what meetings (a) she, (b) Ministers in her Department and (c) officials in her Department have had with individuals or groups representing intersex people.

Jo Swinson: Ministers and officials from the Government Equalities Office regularly meet a broad range of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender stakeholders. Government Equalities Office officials met with representatives from the UK Intersex Association in June 2012.

Domestic Visits

Sheila Gilmore: To ask the Ministers for Women and Equalities, pursuant to the Answer of 10 July 2014, Official Report, column 409W, on domestic visits, what domestic visits (a) she and (b) her predecessors have made since January 2013; and what the purpose of each such visit was.

Jo Swinson: The answer is in the tables. Rt Hon Maria Miller MP DateVisitPurpose10/5/13BuryTo launch pilot scheme to get more women and girls active and tackle the gender gap in sport.14-18/10/13USAIncluded discussions on women and the economy.1-4/12/13ChinaIncluded equalities related activity.15-17/12/13RussiaIncluded discussions on LGBT rights.10/1/14WiltshireIncluded visit to Riding for the Disabled, to see how the organisation supports disabled people.11-14/3/14UN Commission on the Status of WomenTo promote women’s rights and help ensure a strong set of agreed conclusions. Rt Hon Sajid Javid MP DateVisitPurpose21/5/14BrightonIncluded an interview with a local LGBT publication.2/6/14West MidlandsVisited Birmingham LGBT and interview with local online LGBT publication. Rt Hon Nicky Morgan MP DateVisitPurpose7/5/14The National Science Museum, LondonTo launch the ‘Your Life’ campaign to motivate more girls to continue to study maths and physics.13/5/14Google Campus for Mums, Shoreditch, LondonTo announce a new £1million challenge fund to help female entrepreneurs benefit from superfast broadband.05/06/14ParisAttended a Conference to explore practical strategies and best practices in accelerating women’s economic progress worldwide Helen Grant MP  DateVisitPurpose19/6/13Pimlico Academy, LondonTo encourage girls in their career aspirations.25/6/13St Mary’s Primary school, Moss Side, ManchesterTo encourage girls in their career aspirations.3/12/13BuryTo see the progress of Sport England pilot.2-3/6/14MaltaUndertook equalities meetings as well as tourism events.  Jo Swinson MP DateVisitPurpose31/1/13DurhamTo raise SMEs awareness of the Equality Act 2010.7/3/13EpsomTo raise SMEs awareness of the Equality Act 2010.8/3/13The National Science MuseumTo celebrate International Women’s Day and speak to young girls about careers in science, engineering, technology and maths.14/3/13Big Bang Fair - ExCeL centre LondonTo encourage interest by women in science and engineering.4/10/13WiltshireTo visit military personnel and spouses benefiting from Rural Growth Network.21/11/13Bridge Academy LondonTo launch project to tackle homophobic, biphobic and transphobic bullying Project. Jenny Willott MP DateVisitPurpose2/6/14Royal Free Hospital LondonTo launch report into body image during pregnancy and after birth.4/6/14Highams Park School, Highams Park, LondonTo launch the ‘Opening doors’ pilot scheme aimed at encouraging more girls to undertake A’ Levels in subjects traditionally dominated by boys.18/6/14LiverpoolTo promote the role of women in the economy at the International Festival for Business.